Concept
When an eminent citizen dies, and their survivors grant permission, they can be honored by Lying in State or Lying in Honor in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. The honor must be authorized by either a Joint Resolution of Congress or the approval of Congressional Leadership. Just over three dozen individuals have been so honored.
USCHS In the News:
Definitions
Laying in State: Government officials, certain members of the armed forces
Laying in Honor: Private citizens who did not hold public office
Summary Statistics
People to have Lain in State: 38
- U.S. Presidents: 12
- U.S. Vice Presidents: 2
- Supreme Court Justices: 1
- Cabinet Appointees: 2
- Members of Congress: 13
- U.S. Armed Forces: 7
- Pierre L’Enfant
People to have Lain in Honor: 8
- Ofc. Jacob Chestnut
- Det. John Gibson
- Rosa Parks
- Rev. Billy Graham
- Ofc. Brian Sicknick
- Ofc. William Evans
- Hershel “Woody” Williams
- Ralph Puckett, Jr.
Timeline
1852 Senator, former Secretary of State and former Speaker of the House Henry Clay (KY) becomes the first to Lie in State
1865 President Abraham Lincoln
1868 Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (PA)
1874 Sen. Charles Sumner (MA)
1875 Vice President Henry Wilson
1881 President James Garfield
1886 Sen. John Logan (IL)
1901 President William McKinley
1909 Pierre L’Enfant (before his re-interment)
1917 Admiral of the Navy George Dewey
1921 Unknown Soldier of World War I
1923 President Warren Harding
1930 Chief Justice and former President William Taft
1948 General of the Armies John Pershing
1953 Senate Leader Robert Taft (OH)
1958 Unknown Soldiers of World War II and the Korean War
1963 President John Kennedy
1964 General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
1964 President Herbert Hoover
1969 President Dwight Eisenhower
1969 Senate Leader Everett Dirksen (IL)
1972 FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
1973 President Lyndon Johnson
1978 Senator and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey (MN)
1984 Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War
1989 Representative and former Senator Claude Pepper (FL)
1998 Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson of the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) become the first people to Lay in Honor following their deaths in an attack on the Capitol Building
2004 President Ronald Reagan
2005 Civil Rights Leader Rosa Parks becomes the first woman and third person to Lay in Honor
2007 President Gerald Ford
2012 Senate President Pro Tempore Daniel Inouye (HI)
2018 Rev. Billy Graham becomes the fourth person to Lay in Honor
2018 Sen. John McCain (AZ)
2018 President George H.W. Bush
2019 Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD)*
2020 Rep. John Lewis (GA)**
2020 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg*
2021 USCP Officer Brian Sicknick becomes the fifth person to Lay in Honor
2021 USCP Officer William Evans becomes the sixth person to Lay in Honor
2021 Senate Leader Robert Dole (KS)
2022 Senate Leader Harry Reid (NV)
2022 Rep. Don Young (AK)*
2022 Hershel “Woody” Williams, last living Medal of Honor Recipient from WWII, becomes the seventh person to Lay in Honor
2024 Ralph Puckett, Jr., last living Medal of Honor Recipient from the Korean War, becomes the eight person to Lay in Honor
* Laid in State in National Statuary Hall
** Moved onto the East Front Portico for public viewing after laying in state
The Catafalques
The Lincoln Catafalque, which was constructed for the Lying in State of President Abraham Lincoln, has been used in many of the subsequent Lying in State Ceremonies. The original pine-board structure remains intact and has been reinforced over the years to accommodate modern coffins. The black fabric covering has been replaced several times over the years. When not in use, the Lincoln Catafalque is on display in a special part of the Capitol Visitor Center Exhibition Hall.
A second catafalque was constructed in 1958 to accommodate the dual Lyings in State of the Unknown Soldiers from World War II and the Korean War; each casket rested on the Lincoln Catafalque at some time before interment. Likewise, other catafalques have been constructed for all Lying in Honor ceremonies.
The Lincoln Catafalque has been lent-out to other branches of the federal government for Lying in Repose ceremonies. These include:
1974 Former Chief Justice Earl Warren
1993 Former Justice Thurgood Marshall
1995 Former Chief Justice Warren Burger
1996 Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown
1997 Former Justice William Brennan
1999 Justice Harry Blackmun
2005 Chief Justice William Rehnquist
2016 Justice Antonin Scalia
2023 Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
Notes of Interest
When an individual Lies in State or Honor in the Capitol Rotunda, they are resting in all four quadrants of Washington, DC simultaneously.
Between Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy, only presidents who died in office were honored with a Lying in State Ceremony. Former presidents who died after 1963 have been traditionally offered the opportunity for a state funeral.
Only two U.S. Presidents since Kennedy have declined Lying in State as part of their funeral plans: Harry Truman and Richard Nixon. Truman’s wife Bess hated Washington and never wanted to be First Lady; he was not going to make her participate in a State Funeral there. Nixon’s family was concerned that his unpopularity would make his ceremony less than somber.
Representative and former Senator Claude Pepper of Florida was the last individual to Lie in State with an open casket in 1989.
The Lincoln Catafalque had to be reinforced in 2004 to support President Reagan’s marble-lined coffin.
In 2019, Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland became the first person to Lie in State in National Statuary Hall, the former House Chamber.
In 2020, Representative John Lewis of Georgia Laid in State in the Rotunda before his casket was moved onto the East Front Steps for public viewing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Credit: United States Capitol Historical Society
